Linsoul KZ AST 24 Units Balanced Armature Combination in-Ear Earphones IEM with Detachable 2pin 0.75 Cable for Musicians Audiophile (Without mic, Black)

This Amazon page was previously used to sell the KZ AS16 in ear monitors. It is now used to sell the KZ AST (AS24) in ear monitors. Please know that this review is for the KZ AST, NOT the AS16. I recently got into the hobby of budget hi-fi and really wanted to see how Knowledge Zenith's top-of-the-line monitors would sound, and I must say- this is incredible! The KZ AST features a total of twelve balanced armature drivers- twelve in each ear. The price of entry is steep compared to their other offerings, but I find it well worth it. The bass is fast and quite extended. Not as slamming as dynamic drivers, but that is expected from an all-balanced-armatures type of earphone. It's quick and does not melt into the mids, leaving so much space to hear the details. The mids are gorgeous, and the highs are also super crisp and natural. People tend to think that KZ's highs are tinny and metallic, but the AST does away with that stereotype and presents a beautifully balanced and natural sound. They are exceedingly easy to drive, with a low impedance and high sensitivity. With that said, I find they benefit from use with a DAC, but be sure to lower the volume and maybe even invest in an impedance plug so you don't blow out your eardrums. When used with my Conexant CX31993 DAC dongle, I find the soundstage drastically larger, with greater depth and imaging. I pair that with a FAAEAL 220 Ohm impedance plug so I can make sure that extra juice is still being put to use. The stock cable is perfectly adequate, and a total upgrade from the typical stiff cables that come with KZ in ears. The new stock cable is a striking silver color and hangs loosely, much more pliable and less prone to memory than the previous stock cables. With that said, I still chose to upgrade to the Tripowin C8 cable, just because I wanted something a bit thicker. The stock silicone eartips did not work well for my ears, I found that the small ones pushed too far inside my ear and the mediums kept ejecting themselves from my ear canals. You will almost certainly benefit fromupgrading to an aftermarket set of eartips. I am using the Spinfit CP100+ (size medium). The monitors themselves are very large, housing so many drivers. This means they may not be a good choice for smaller ears (such as my own), but with the right tips, they should fit your ears quite comfortably such that you can wear them for hours. One of the benefits I find with an all-armature build is that I don't suffer nearly as much from air pressure buildup as one would with dynamic drivers. These in ear monitors are detail monitors. If you really wanna go the extra step, you may wish to get yourself a nice case to keep em in. I used a Pelican 1010 micro series hard case and DIY custom-fit the monitors into Pelican 1012 pick-and-pluck foam. There's plenty of room to spare in the case for my DAC dongle, impedance plug, and cable. If you have the cash and really want to hear what KZ is capable of, I encourage you to consider the KZ AST in ear monitors. I do not regret this purchase one bit, but you will likely wish to consider some minor upgrades such as the ones I have made.

My initial response was superb, my other earbuds were basically worn out. Even when they were new they never sounded this good. As a drummer I love the clarity.Full sound; drums sound like drums, guitars sound like guitars, etc.These were referred to me by a friend and fellow drummer who I have a lot respect for.

Who do I contact customer service?... The one ear bud has no sounds

This past Sunday was the first time using these with a full band… WOW! I am blown away!I have been playing drums for almost 20 years and have had the privilege to drum tech for some big artists. One thing has remained consistent in my playing as a professional drummer and the other professional drummers I have teched for and that is the need for high end in ear monitors!The front runner that I have constantly seen and have used myself for years has been 64 audio 8 driver iem’s which sound amazing and a close second I use as backups the Shure SE846 quad driver iem’s, Both have cost me a grand a piece so it really sucks when a pair breaks like my 64’s recently have after years of rigorous use. I still have my backup SE846 which sound fantastic and are still going strong but I wish had a bit more low end.WITH ALL THAT BEING SAID THESE KZ AST 24 DRIVER IEM’S 100% COMPETE AND SOUND JUST AS GOOD AS THE 64 AUDIO AND SOUND WAY BETTER THAN THE SHURE SE846!The highs are crystal clear, the mids do not get lost whatsoever and are very present and the LOW END IS ROBUST!I highly recommend these to any musician but drummers and bassists these are for you!!!Save yourself the money of high end $1000 plus iem’s and get these!!!I will say that I did upgrade the ear tips and cable, this is a must!All in all, the separation from 12 drivers in each ear is an amazing experience that every musician needs to try!

They are pleasant in the midrange, soft in the lows and the highs are smooth and clean.The only con would be they’re a little uncomfortable at first when wearing for longer than an hour. Otherwise, the noise cancellation is quiet.

I plan to wear these in-ear headphones for the entirety of the time I'm at my PC. As such, it was great when I could feel how comfortable these were as soon as I put them in. I have worn them for some hours consecutively without issue.I have no training in identifying audio quality, but I can say I've never heard anything better than through these headphones. I have heard the high-end and the low-end and the whole range of human vocals. They all sound absolutely amazing. I haven't noticed any fuzziness from the audio.I would highly recommend these headphones to anyone who can comfortably afford them.My only concern is that the four-stranded cable's individual strands are too thin to sustain much damage should something bad happen. For my setup in a quiet and low-risk office, I don't think too much will happen to it.

The sound quality of the in-earphone is beyond my expectation at this price, especially the bass and middle range, very detailed and powerful. But delivery was a bit sluggish.

i love these headphones. it's tough to give them a bad review. maybe i got a bad unit, but one of the earbuds fell apart after just a couple months of use. the top plate popped off very randomly once when i touched it, and the connector part came out of its seated position, and the whole earpiece ended up hanging from the tiny internal wires- breaking one of the internal solder points. The fit and feel was better than the KZ ZS10's - better isolation, better silicone tips, however, the earpiece would often want to rotate in my ear to a point where the earhook wire would run quite a bit against the front of my ear.i wish is was a better experience for me. i was ready to buy 10 more of them

HiUPDATE - please google KZ decorative drivers - there are concerns from other models that not all drivers are functioning and or have such a small sound you cant hear them or the cross over doesnt work. Im not saying that is the case - but it sure would explain the lack of top end. Make your own conclusions.After original review - I did purchase another pair in a sale - the sound is the same - ie the bass to mid is good but its not there in the treble. I listened to some acoustic recordings and they were ok - but the "tell" for me is - I dont use them - they sit in the case and I use my 8Hz Timeless.ORIGINAL REVIEWI bought the KZ-ZS10 pros and was blown away for the money. so I thought ok I will spend more and see if I can improve on them - I wasn't expecting a big jump - diminishing returns etc…Im afraid these disappointed me - but that could be as they are tuned differently to the ZS10s. Ive since looked at some frequency graphs which back up what I found.I listened with two different cables and two different dac-amps (ifi Zen 2 and Hipdac 2) and straight into my phone. (Lossless files)ProsThe bass - some reviews said the BA may not be as good as a DD - honestly - I thought the bass was excellent less bloated and tighter than the ZS10s - this was the best pro for me.They are bigger - but they have 12 BAs per side and I think they did a good job - they are moulded so fits a little nicer in my ear - unlike the Zs10s which are smaller but no moulding - so I thought a bit more comfortable.The cable and tips were an upgrade over the ZS10s - they arnt great but they are good enough - ZS10 stock cable is only just ok.ConsThe Mids - more the upper mids-treble - they are just not there - I A/B testing with my Zs10 - and did try different EQs to counter it but it didn't improve it much. what I heard on the ZS10s was missing on the AST24 - I was loosing detail.The Treble - same as Mid - the ZS10s had more detail - though it wasn't as harsh as the ZS10s ie the AST had a nicer smoother treble just didn't reveal much.The price - its too high - even if you like the tuning I think this is a £60-£70 IEMI tried different types of music thinking maybe they are a bit niche and in fairness they did better with when the music was less busy ie the space was there for them to shine with what they did present and it was smoother and less harsh over the ZS10s.But at this price - no sorry - they went back.I hope its a tuning thing - I loved the bass and if they sort out the upper mids to treble Id buy them ie a pro version. Or if they become a lot cheaper maybe as a niche listen iem.So I sent them back and paid more for the 7Hz Timeless - different to the Zs10s but an upgrade - very good smoother, detailed great bass - like going from a hot hatchback to a Mercedes. Very pleased with these and they are now my everyday listen.Hope this helps

Although the sound is detailed when using on a phone or computer source I’ve heard better. Once plugged into a decent headphone amp that can drive the complex impedances they present to the device they leap into life and it’s difficult to stop listening. I’ve also noticed I can run them considerably lower level than others due to the midrange being so clean.

Unbelievable! These are so detailed and allow music to breathe and yet lose none of the fun & joy of listening to music. Everything has its own place in the mix and you are surrounded with glorious music. For a BA earphone the bass is great - you don’t get that push of a dynamic driver but it’s almost there - it hits hard - not sure how they pulled that off. Therefore this sounds good with all genres of music which means this could be it for some people. Metallica, to Ben Howard, to Smashing Pumpkins, to Daft Punk, to Foo Fighters, to Dr Dre, to Mogwai, to Kings of Leon - this never misses a beat. Its worth mentioning I upgraded the cable to the excellent Tripowin C8

Mi è piaciuto tutto. L'aderenza, quasi ventosa al mio padiglione. Il suono che dire: piacevolmente esagerato, bisogna andarci piano col volume (ipod classic) ma non distorce per niente anche al massimo ( vacci piano) e sono Mp3, non oso immaginare loseless o flac, il suono c'è tutto, sub bassi che sorprendono, alti ancora un po' aspri, c'è l'ho da 4 giorni, migliora di giorno in giorno, diamogli un po' di rodaggio. Comunque prestazioni elevatissime, meglio, molto meglio di altre scelte fatte in in passato da 250 e anche di più...

Absolute Dumpfe Kopfhörer. Bei 24 Treibern keine Höhen zu haben ist ein absolutes No Go. Interne Klangabstimmung haut überhaupt nicht hin. Phasenlage Fremdwort. Als ob man hinter einem Vorhang steht.Mitgelieferte Earplugs sind auch von minderer Qualität und wenn ich meine eigentlichen verwende bleiben diese im Ohr stecken, weil sie total leicht von der Aufnahme abrutschen.Da bleibe ich bei meine KZ ZS10 Pro. Das sind nach vielen Tests meiner Meinung nach die besten. Schade ich dachte hier hat man nochmal den Aha Effekt nachdem ich diesen bei den ZS10 Pro hatte aber leider das absolute Gegenteil. Das Ding braucht dringend eine Klangüberarbeitung bzw. sollte man sich echt überlegen ob man mit 24 Treiben einfach zu viel hat. Ich würde sogar behaupten, dass die Dinger Phasen und daher auch die Höhen fehlen.